If I were to believe most of information in most of the spam sitting in my email box right now — at this very minute — I would think I am about to become quite wealthy.

This very well might be my last column. I’m taking all of that money and buying a one-way ticket to paradise. Oh, and my very first pair of Christian Louboutin shoes: 4-inch heels and bright red soles. Oh, oh, and open toed, maybe sling backs.

Joan Bailey of Camp Hill and a friend thwarted a telephone scam.Allison Dougherty

I think I’ll hire someone to carry me around, too. There’s no way I can walk down a grocery store aisle in those babies. I’ll just take my new riches and get someone else to do my walking.

Might want to wait on that, you say? You mean the fellow who just died in Perth — yes, Perth of all places, according to my email — who shares my surname did not leave me a bazillion dollars?

I typically don’t read my spam, but this one was pretty good. Like most of you, I ignore my spam folder, or just delete the lottery-winning-Irish-Sweepstakes-rich-dead-cousin-in-Pago-Pago notification emails. I know better.

But, if what happened to Joan Bailey of Camp Hill a few weeks ago happened to me, I’d be talking to you with about $1,100 less in my savings account right now. No question about it.

Bailey, who is in her 70s, received a telephone call. Bailey told me the caller said, “Grandma, I need help.”

I don’t have grandchildren, but if my phone rang and a male voice said, “Mom, I need help,” I’d drop everything. I’d also panic. My son lives in Virginia. “Mom, I need help” is one of my worst nightmares. My head swims when I even think the words.

Bailey said the caller, who used her grandson’s name, William, went on to tell her that he’d had a car accident. It was his fault. He’d hit a foreign diplomat and was waiting to go into court to see a judge.

The caller needed $1,100 wired to him within one hour, or he was going to jail. Then, the caller gave the phone to someone who said he was a lawyer. Bailey said the caller sounded like her grandson, and the caller's lawyer had all kinds of information about the accident and the trouble it had caused.

Bailey said they spoke fast. She barely had time to think. She was frightened for her grandson.

And Bailey did precisely what I would’ve done. Scared and rattled, she called a friend and asked for help wiring money. Then, she drove to the bank. After Bailey had the money, but before sending it, the friend asked if Bailey had checked to see if her grandson really was in trouble.

The friend wasn’t scared. The friend had time to think. Bailey called her grandson. He was just fine. Bailey, who has a lot more chutzpah than I do, told the callers, when they contacted her to see if she’d wired the money, that if her grandson was in trouble he could get out of it himself.

I would’ve been afraid to answer the phone. Then, Bailey called the police.

I called Chief Douglas S. Hockenberry of the Camp Hill Police Department and was told that Bailey’s experience is not unusual. Hockenberry said callers such as Bailey's find lots of information on the Internet and they use it. They are well organized. Hockenberry said never wire or give money to anyone unless you’ve stopped to make sure the request is legitimate.

Bailey said that when the call first happened, she didn’t want anyone to know. Then, she thought about it. Bailey decided lots of people should know, just in case they received the same call.

I am more than happy to help her out with that.

Allison Dougherty can be reached at allisondougherty@aol.com and will accept ideas for column topics.